The New York Police Department (NYPD) used its new robot dog in the Bronx on Tuesday morning, a new video shows. The four-legged robot is made of circuits, hydraulics, and an AI brain.
NYPD robot dog in Bronx
The machine, called Digidog, was accompanying human officers to a home invasion crime situation on East 227th Street near White Plains Road in Wakefield. Video shows the blue and black Digidog running along the sidewalk with its handlers.
The department is checking a 70-pound robotic dog that uses “artificial intelligence to navigate its environment,” Sgt. Jessica McRorie, the NYPD spokesperson, told FOX 5 NY. It is also capable of two-way communication, the spokeswoman added. “There are cameras and lights on the device which allow the NYPD to view its surroundings in real-time.”
Digidog specifically came for emergency situations that could be too dangerous for human officers otherwise. The NYPD’s Technical Assistance Response Unit members told ABC 7 in December that the robot is 70 pounds in weight, can run about three-and-a-half miles per hour, and climb stairs. It can also perform other tasks such as opening doors, recovering objects, and take measurements with the help of optional gear.
Digidog previously labeled Spot
Boston Dynamics designed the Digidog, which initially named it Spot. But later, NYPD painted the robot blue, black, and yellow and gave the label “Digidog”.
NYPD did not disclose the details of the operation but confirmed it was an investigation act.
“The device deployed today to the inside of an apartment located within the confines of the 47th Precinct as part of an ongoing investigation,” McRorie said, “and it was determined there were not any individuals inside of the location.”
TARU Inspector Frank Digiacomo said this dog will save lives, protect people, and protect officers as part of our mission. “This robot is able to use its artificial intelligence to navigate things, very complex environments,” NYPD’s Deepu John added.
The department has used Digidog in earlier incidents in Brooklyn and Queens. In October 2020, the department deployed the robotic dog during a shooting in Brooklyn to investigate a basement where the gunman was hiding. And later in Queens, Digidog came in handy when two armed men kidnapped five people in a home.
NYPD Technical Assistance Response Unit Inspector Frank Digiacomo told ABC 7: ‘People wanted food so we strapped food onto it and sent it in to the location.’
Robot dog in an art gallery
Whereas a prankster is using the robotic dog to create havoc in an art gallery. The public will use an armed, paintball-firing robotic dog with its remote control in an art gallery. New York-based start-up MSCHF has started this campaign to highlight the risk of misuse of such machines.
However, Boston Dynamics have criticized MSCHF’s campaign and called it a ‘spectacle’ that ‘fundamentally misrepresents’ Spot.
Video of robot dog in action in Bronx, New York
Video Source: Daniel Valls/FNTV freedomnews.tv
